ABSTRACT
The main goal of our paper is to analyse the propagation of soliton pulses. We analyse the possibility of using
soliton to weaken undesirable effect for variable nonlinearity and group velocity dispersion. In analysis of the
pulse propagation in optical fiber of a new nonlinear effect, solitons pass through localized fibers and the effect
of non-linearity and dispersion of the pulse propagation causes temporal spreading of pulse and it can be
compensated by non- linear effect using different types of pulse including Gaussian pulses and hyperbolic
secant pulses. Numerical simulations of the suitable GNLSE using these solutions as input showed that they are
stable, however, they may be related with the analysed bound pairs and they propagate steadily for transpacific link compared to the observed ones.

I. INTRODUCTION
With the advance of the information technology and the explosive growth of the graphics around the
world, the demand for high bit rate communication systems has been raising exponentially. In recent
time, the intense desire to exchange the information technology has refueled extensive research efforts
worldwide to develop and improve all optical fiber based transmission systems. Optical solitons are
pulse of light which are considered the natural mode of an optical fiber. Solitons are able to propagate
for long distance in optical fiber, because it can maintain its shapes when propagating through fibers.
We are just at the beginning of what will likely be known as the photonics. One of the keys of success
is ensuring photonics revolution and uses the optical solitons in fiber optic communications system.
Solitons are a special type of optical pulses that can propagate through an optical fiber undistorted for
tens of thousands of km. the key of solitons formation is the careful balance of the opposing forces of
dispersion and self-phase modulation. In this paper, we will discuss the origin of optical solitons
starting with the basic concepts of optical pulse propagation.
In this paper, we will discuss about theory of soliton, pulse dispersion, self-phase modulation and
nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) for pulse propagation through optical fiber. In analysis we
study different pulses and implement them using NLSE. In the last, we will show our research result
regarding different pulses to generate soliton.

II. THEORY
After an introduction to basic soliton theory, we cover soliton self-frequency shift with dissipative

solitons and spatial solitons and their effects on optical pulses.
2.1. Soliton
In mathematics and physics a soliton is a self-reinforcing solitary wave. It is also a wave packet or
pulse that maintains its shape while it travels at constant speed. Solitons are caused by a cancellation
of nonlinear and dispersive effect in the medium. Dispersive effects mean a certain systems where the

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ÂŠIJAET
ISSN: 22311963
speed of the waves varies according to frequency. Solitons arise as the solutions of a widespread class
of weakly nonlinear dispersive partial differential equation describing physical systems. Soliton is an
isolated particle like wave that is a solution of certain equation for propagating, acquiring when two
solitary waves do not change their form after collision and subsequently travel for considerable
distance. Moreover, soliton is a quantum of energy or quasi particle that can be propagated as a
travelling wave in non-linear system and cannot be followed other disturbance. This process does not
obey the superposition principal and does not dissipate. Soliton wave can travel long distance with
little loss of energy or structure.
In general, the temporal and spectral shape of a short optical pulse changes during propagation in a
transparent medium due to the Kerr effect and chromatic dispersion. Under certain circumstances,
however, the effects of Kerr nonlinearity and dispersion can exactly cancel each other, apart from a
constant phase delay per unit propagation distance, so that the temporal and spectral shape of the
pulses is preserved even over long propagation distances. This phenomenon was first observed in the
context of water waves [1], but later also in optical fibers .The conditions for (fundamental) soliton
pulse propagation in a lossless medium are:
For a positive value of the nonlinear coefficient n2 (as occur for most media), the chromatic
dispersion needs to be anomalous. The temporal shape of the pulse has to be that of an unchirped sech2 pulse (assuming that the group delay dispersion is constant, i.e. there is no higher-order
dispersion):
đ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;?
đ?&#x2018;&#x192;(đ?&#x2018;Ą) = đ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;? sech2 (đ?&#x2018;Ąâ &#x201E;đ?&#x153;?) =
(1)
2
đ?&#x2018;?đ?&#x2018;&#x153;đ?&#x2018; â&#x201E;&#x17D; (đ?&#x2018;Ąâ &#x201E;đ?&#x153;?)

The pulse energy Ep and soliton pulse duration đ?&#x153;? have to meet the following condition:
đ??¸đ?&#x2018;? =

2|đ?&#x203A;˝2 |
|đ?&#x203A;ž|đ?&#x153;?

(2)

Here, the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) pulse duration isâ&#x2030;&#x2C6;1.7627Ă&#x2014; đ?&#x153;? , Îł is the SPM coefficient
in rad/(Wm), and Î˛2 is the group velocity dispersion defined as a derivative with respect to angular
frequency, i.e. the group delay dispersion per unit length (in s2/m).

2.2. Soliton Self-Frequency Shift
When propagating in an optical fiber, soliton pulses are subject not only to the Kerr nonlinearity, but
also to stimulated Raman scattering. For very short solitons (with durations of e.g. <100 fs),
the optical spectrum becomes so broad that the longer-wavelength tail can experience Raman
amplification at the expense of power in the shorter-wavelength tail. This causes an overall spectral
shift of the soliton towards longer wavelengths, i.e., a soliton self-frequency shift [2, 3, 4,5]. The
strength of this effect depends strongly on the pulse duration, since shorter solitons exhibit a
higher peak power and a broader optical spectrum. The latter is important because the Raman gain is
weak for small frequency offsets. During propagation, the rate of the frequency shift often slows
down; because the pulse energy is reduced and the pulse duration increased [5].The soliton selffrequency shift can be exploited for reaching spectral regions which are otherwise difficult to access.
By adjusting the pulse energy in the fiber, it is possible to tune the output wavelength in a large range.

2.3. Dissipative Solitons
The solitons as discussed above arise in a situation where the pulse does not exchange energy with the
fiber. These (ordinary) solitons are therefore called conservative solitons. A much wider range of
phenomena is possible when dissipative effects also come into play. For example, socalled dissipative solitons may arise even for normal chromatic dispersion in combination with a
positive nonlinear index [6], if there is in addition a spectral band-pass filtering effect and also
optical gain (amplification) to compensate for the energy losses in the filter. Another possible
dissipative effect is related to saturable absorption.
Although it is hardly conceivable to have an optical fiber in which all these effects take place in order
to form a dissipative soliton, one may a similar phenomenon in the resonator of a passively modelocked laser, containing not only a fiber, but also other optical components such as a spectral bandpass filter and a saturable absorber. If each of the relevant effects is sufficiently weak within one
resonator round trip, the resulting dynamics are similar as if all the effects would be occurred in a

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ÂŠIJAET
ISSN: 22311963
distributed fashion within the fiber. In that sense, one may describe the circulating pulse in
certain mode-locked fiber lasers as dissipative solitons.

2.4. Spatial Solitons
Apart from the temporal solitons as discussed above, there are also spatial solitons. In that case, a
nonlinearity of the medium (possibly of photorefractive type) cancels the diffraction, so that a beam
with constant beam radius can be formed even in a medium which would be homogeneous without
the influence of the light beam. The fact that soliton wave packets do not spread imposes unusual
constraints on the wave motion. Pulses (wave-packets) in nature have a natural tendency to broaden
during propagation in a dispersive linear medium. For temporal pulses this broadening (temporal
lengthening) is due to chromatic dispersion: the various frequency components that constitute the
temporal pulse possess different velocities (due to the presence of some, usually distant, resonance).
The narrowest pulse forms when the relative phase among all components is zero. However, as the
pulse starts to propagate, the frequency components travel at different phase velocities. Hence their
relative phase is no longer zero and the pulse broadens. For `pulses' in space (so-called `beams'), the
broadening is caused by diffraction. Consider a quasi-monochromatic light beam propagating within a
medium of refractive index n in some (arbitrary) general direction that is called the `optical axis', for
example along z.[7] The beam can be represented as a linear superposition of plane-waves (sometimes
called `spatial frequencies'), all having the same wave vector (k= nx/c, i.e. the ratio between the
frequency and the speed of light c/n), with each wave propagating at a slightly different angle with
respect to the optical axis. Since each plane-wave component is characterized by a different projection
of its wave vector on the optical axis, each component propagates at a different phase velocity with
respect to that axis. In this way, the component that propagates `on' the optical axis propagates faster
than a component that propagates at some angle a, whose propagation constant is proportional to cos
(Îą). Just as for temporal pulses, the narrowest width of the spatial beam is obtained at a particular
plane in space at which all components are in-phase. However, as the beam propagates a distance z
away from that plane, each plane-wave component `i' acquires a different phase. This causes the
spatial frequency components to differ in phase and the beam broadens (diffracts). In general, the
narrower the initial beam, the broader is its plane-wave spectrum (spatial spectrum) and the faster it
diverges (diffracts) with propagation along the z-axis. A commonly used method to eliminate spatial
spreading (diffraction) is to use wave guiding. In a waveguide, the propagation behaviour of the beam
in a high index medium is modified by the total internal reflection from boundaries with media of
lower refractive index, and under conditions of constructive interference between the reflections the
beam becomes trapped between these boundaries and thus forms a `guided mode'. A planar dielectric
waveguide is an example of such a wave guiding system, typically called (1+1) D (or 1D), because
propagation occurs along one coordinate (say, z) and guidance along a single `transverse' coordinate y.
The guided optical beam is here assumed to be uniform in the other transverse direction x. This is
equivalent to Russell's spatial solitary wave case which is also (1+1) D with the water displacement
occurring along one spatial coordinate (`height'). An optical fibre is an example of a (2+1) D wave
guiding system, in which spatial guidance occurs in both transverse dimensions.
In principle, one can also use an optical nonlinearity to confine a spatial pulse (a narrow optical beam)
without using an external wave guiding system. Intuitively, this can occur when the optical beam
modifies the refractive index in such a way that it generates an elective positive lens, i.e. the refractive
index in the centre of the beam becomes larger than that at the beam's margins. The medium now
resembles a graded-index waveguide in the vicinity of the optical beam. When the optical beam that
has induced the waveguide is also a guided mode of the waveguide that it induces, the beam's
propagation becomes stationary, that is, the entire beam propagates as a whole with a single
propagation constant. All the plane-wave components that constitute the beam propagate at the same
velocity. As a result, the beam becomes `self-trapped' and its divergence is eliminated altogether,
keeping the beam at a very narrow diameter which can be as small as 10 vacuum wavelengths.

2.5. Pulse Dispersion
In digital communication systems, information is encoded in the form of pulses and then these light
pulses are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. The larger the number of pulses that can be

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ÂŠIJAET
ISSN: 22311963
sent per unit time and still be resolvable at the receiver end, the larger is the capacity of the system.
However, when the light pulses travel down the fiber, the pulses spread out, and this phenomenon is
called Pulse Dispersion.
Pulse dispersion is one of the two most important factors that limit a fiberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity (the other is
fiberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s losses). Pulse dispersion happens because of four main reasons:
i. Intermodal Dispersion
ii. Material Dispersion
iii. Waveguide Dispersion
iv. Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
An electromagnetic wave, such as the light sent through an optical fiber is actually a combination of
electric and magnetic fields oscillating perpendicular to each other. When an electromagnetic wave
propagates through free space, it travels at the constant speed of 3.0 Ă&#x2014; 108 meters.
However, when light propagates through a material rather than through free space, the electric and
magnetic fields of the light induce a polarization in the electron clouds of the material. This
polarization makes it more difficult for the light to travel through the material, so the light must slow
down to a speed less than its original 3.0 Ă&#x2014; 108 meters per second. The degree to which the light is
slowed down is given by the materials refractive index n. The speed of light within material is then đ?&#x2018;Ł
= 3.0Ă&#x2014; 108 meters per second/n.
This shows that a high refractive index means a slow light propagation speed. Higher refractive
indices generally occur in materials with higher densities, since a high density implies a high
concentration of electron clouds to slow the light.
Since the interaction of the light with the material depends on the frequency of the propagating light,
the refractive index is also dependent on the light frequency. This, in turn, dictates that the speed of
light in the material depends on the lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frequency, a phenomenon known as chromatic dispersion.
Optical pulses are often characterized by their shape. We consider a typical pulse shape named
Gaussian, shown in Figure 1. In a Gaussian pulse, the constituent photons are concentrated toward the
centre of the pulse, making it more intense than the outer tails.
Sech Shape
Gaussian
Shape

Change of reflectivity (%)

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Time (ps)

Figure 1. Gaussian pulse shape

Optical pulses are generated by a near-monochromatic light source such as a laser or an LED. If the
light source were completely monochromatic, then it would generate photons at a single frequency
only, and all of the photons would travel through the fiber at the same speed. In reality, small thermal
fluctuations and quantum uncertainties prevent any light source from being truly monochromatic. This
means that the photons in an optical pulse actually include a range of different frequencies. Since the
speed of a photon in an optical fiber depends on its frequency, the photons within a pulse will travel at
slightly different speeds from each other.
Chromatic dispersion may be classified into two different regimes: normal and anomalous. With
normal dispersion, the lower frequency components of an optical pulse travel faster than the higher
frequency components. The opposite is true with anomalous dispersion. The type of dispersion a pulse

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ÂŠIJAET
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experiences depends on its wavelength; a typical fiber optic communication system uses a pulse
wavelength of 1.55 Îźm, which falls within the anomalous dispersion regime of most optical fiber.
Pulse broadening, and hence chromatic dispersion, can be a major problem in fiber optic
communication systems for obvious reasons. A broadened pulse has much lower peak intensity than
the initial pulse launched into the fiber, making it more difficult to detect. Worse yet, the broadening
of two neighbouring pulses may cause them to overlap, leading to errors at the receiving end of the
system.
However, chromatic dispersion is not always a harmful occurrence. As we shall soon see, when
combined with self-phase modulation, chromatic dispersion in the anomalous regime may lead to the
formation of optical solitons.

2.6. Self-Phase Modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear effect of light-matter interaction. With self-phase
Modulation, the optical pulse exhibits a phase shift induced by the intensity-dependent refractive
index. An ultra short pulse light, when travelling in a medium, will induce a varying refractive index
in the medium due to the optical Kerr effect. This variation in refractive index will produce a phase
shift in the pulse, leading to a change of the pulse's frequency spectrum. The refractive index is also
dependent on the intensity of the light. This is due to the fact that the induced electron cloud
polarization in a material is not actually a linear function of the light intensity. The degree of
polarization increases nonlinearly with light intensity, so the material exerts greater slowing forces on
more intense light. Due to the Kerr effect, high optical intensity in a medium (e.g. an optical fiber)
causes a nonlinear phase delay which has the same temporal shape as the optical intensity. This can be
described as a nonlinear change in the refractive index:â&#x2C6;&#x2020;đ?&#x2018;&#x203A; = đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;2 â &#x201E;đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;1 with the nonlinear index đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;2 and
the optical intensity đ??ź.In the context of self-phase modulation, the emphasis is on
the temporal dependence of the phase shift, whereas the transverse dependence for some beam profile
leads to the phenomenon of self-focusing.

2.7. Effects on Optical Pulses
If an optical pulse is transmitted through a medium, the Kerr effect causes a time-dependent phase
shift according to the time-dependent pulse intensity. In this way, an initial un-chirped
optical pulse acquires a so-called chirp, i.e., a temporally varying instantaneous frequency.
For a Gaussian beam with beam radius w in a medium with length L, the phase change per unit
optical power is described by the proportionality constant
2đ?&#x153;&#x2039;

đ?&#x153;&#x2039;

â&#x2C6;&#x2019;1

4đ?&#x2018;&#x203A; đ??ż

đ?&#x203A;žđ?&#x2018;&#x2020;đ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;&#x20AC; = đ?&#x153;&#x2020; đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;2 đ??ż ( 2 đ?&#x2018;¤ 2 ) = đ?&#x153;&#x2020;đ?&#x2018;¤22
(3)
(In some cases, it may be more convenient to omit the factor L, obtaining the phase change per unit
optical power and unit length.) Note that two times smaller coefficients sometimes occur in the
literature, if an incorrect equation for the peak intensity of a Gaussian beam is used.
The time-dependent phase change caused by SPM is associated with a modification of the optical
spectrum. If the pulse is initially un-chirped or up-chirped, SPM leads to spectral broadening (an
increase in optical bandwidth), whereas spectral compression can result if the initial pulse is downchirped (always assuming a positive nonlinear index). For strong SPM, the optical spectrum can
exhibit strong oscillations. The reason for the oscillatory character is essentially that the instantaneous
frequency undergoes strong excursions, so that in general there are contributions from two different
times to the Fourier integral for a given frequency component. Depending on the exact frequency,
these contributions may constructively add up or cancel each [8].
In optical fibers with anomalous chromatic dispersion, the chirp from self-phase modulation may be
compensated by dispersion; this can lead to the formation of solitons. In the case of fundamental
solitons in a lossless fiber, the spectral width of the pulses stays constant during propagation, despite
the SPM effect.

International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, July 2013.
ÂŠIJAET
ISSN: 22311963
The term self-phase modulation is occasionally used outside the context of the Kerr effect, when other
effects cause intensity-dependent phase changes. In particular, this is the case in semiconductor
lasers and semiconductor optical amplifiers, where high signal intensity can reduce the carrier
densities, which in turn lead to a modification of the refractive index and thus the phase change per
unit length during propagation. Comparing this effect with SPM via the Kerr effect, there is an
important difference: such carrier-related phase changes do not simply follow the temporal intensity
profile, because the carrier densities do not instantly adjust to modified intensities. This effect is
pronounced for pulse durations below the relaxation time of the carriers, which is typically in the
range of picoseconds to a few nanoseconds.

2.9. Self-phase Modulation in Mode-locked Lasers
Self-phase modulation has important effects in mode-locked femto second lasers. It results mainly
from the Kerr nonlinearity of the gain medium, although for very long laser resonators even the Kerr
nonlinearity of air can be relevant [9]. Without dispersion, the nonlinear phase shifts can be so strong
that stable operation is no longer possible. In that case, soliton mode locking [10] is a good solution,
where a balance of self-phase modulation and dispersion is utilized, similar to the situation
of solitons in fibers.

2.10. Self-phase Modulation via Cascaded Nonlinearities
Strong self-phase modulation can also arise from cascaded nonlinearities. Basically this means that a
not phase-matched nonlinear interaction leads to frequency doubling, but with subsequent back
conversion. In effect, there is little power conversion to other wavelengths, but the phase changes on
the original wave can be substantial. The result is that the refractive index of a material increases with
the increasing light intensity. Phenomenological consequences of this intensity dependence of
refractive index in fiber optic are known as fiber nonlinearities.

Frequency

Intensity

I0

Back of
pulse

Front of
pulse

Ď&#x2030;0

-Ď&#x201E;

0
Time t

+Ď&#x201E;

Figure 2. Self-phase modulation

In figure 2, a pulse (top curve) propagating through a nonlinear medium undergoes a self-frequency
shift (bottom curve) due to self-phase modulation. The front of the pulse is shifted to lower
frequencies, the back to higher frequencies. In the centre of the pulse the frequency shift is
approximately linear. For an ultra-short pulse with a Gaussian shape and constant phase, the intensity
at time t is given By I (t):
đ?&#x2018;Ą2

đ??ź(đ?&#x2018;Ą) = đ??źđ?&#x2018;&#x153; đ?&#x2018;&#x2019;đ?&#x2018;Ľđ?&#x2018;? (â&#x2C6;&#x2019; đ?&#x153;?2 )
(4)
Where đ??źđ?&#x2018;&#x153; the peak intensity and Ď&#x201E; is half the pulse duration. If the pulse is travelling in a medium, the
optical Kerr effect produces a refractive index change with intensity:
N(I)=đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; + đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;2 . đ??ź
(5)
Where đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; is the linear refractive index and đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;2 is the second-order nonlinear refractive index of the
medium. As the pulse propagates, the intensity at any one point in the medium rises and then falls as
the pulse goes past. This will produce a time-varying refractive index:
đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;(đ??ź)
đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;Ą

Where đ?&#x153;&#x201D;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; and đ?&#x153;&#x2020;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; are the carrier frequency and (vacuum) wavelength of the pulse, and L is the
distance the pulse has propagated. The phase shift results in a frequency shift of the pulse. The
instantaneous frequency Ď&#x2030; (t) is given by
đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;É¸(đ?&#x2018;Ą)
2đ?&#x153;&#x2039;đ?&#x2018;&#x2122; đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;&#x203A;(đ??ź)
đ?&#x153;&#x201D;(đ?&#x2018;Ą) =
= đ?&#x153;&#x201D;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; â&#x2C6;&#x2019;
(8)
đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;Ą
Îť0 đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;Ą
And from the equation for dn/dt above, this is:
đ?&#x153;&#x201D;(đ?&#x2018;Ą) = đ?&#x153;&#x201D;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; +

Plotting Ď&#x2030; (t) shows the frequency shift of each part of the pulse. The leading edge shifts to lower
frequencies ("redder" wavelengths), trailing edge to higher frequencies ("bluer") and the very peak of
the pulse is not shifted. For the centre portion of the pulse (between t = ÂąĎ&#x201E;/2), there is an
approximately linear frequency shift (chirp) given by:
đ?&#x153;&#x201D;(đ?&#x2018;Ą) = đ?&#x153;&#x201D; + đ?&#x203A;ź. đ?&#x2018;Ą
(10)
Where Îą is:
đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;¤
4đ?&#x153;&#x2039;đ??żđ?&#x2018;&#x203A; đ??ź
đ?&#x203A;ź = đ?&#x2018;&#x2018;đ?&#x2018;Ą | = Îť0 đ?&#x153;?22 đ?&#x2018;&#x153;
(11)
0

2.11. Nonlinear SchrĂśdinger Equation (NLSE)
Most nonlinear effects in optical ďŹ bers are observed by using short optical pulses because the
dispersive effects are enhanced for such pulses. Propagation of optical pulses through ďŹ bers can be
studied by solving Maxwellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equations. In the slowly varying envelope approximation, these
equations lead to the following nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) [18].
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;đ??´ đ?&#x2018;&#x2013;
đ?&#x153;&#x2022;2 đ??´
+ đ?&#x203A;˝
=iđ?&#x203A;ž|đ??´2 |đ??´
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;z 2 2 đ?&#x153;&#x2022;đ?&#x2018;Ą 2

đ?&#x203A;ź

â&#x2C6;&#x2019;2đ??´

(12)

Where A (z, t) is the slowly varying envelope associated with the optical pulse, Îą accounts for ďŹ ber
losses, đ?&#x203A;˝2 governs the GVD effects, and Îł is the nonlinear parameter. For an accurate description of
shorter pulses, several higher-order dispersive and nonlinear terms must be added to the NSE [19].
The generalized NLSE can be described as a complete form of nonlinear Schrodinger equation in
optical fiber because it contains all relevant parameters for solving pulse propagation in nonlinear
media.
Nonlinear SchrĂśdinger Equation (NLSE)
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;đ??´
đ?&#x2018;&#x2013;đ?&#x203A;˝2 â&#x2C6;&#x201A;2 đ??´
=
(â&#x2C6;&#x2019;
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;z
2 â&#x2C6;&#x201A;đ?&#x2018;&#x2021; 2

2.12. Group velocity dispersion
Group velocity dispersion is the phenomenon that the group velocity of light in a transparent medium
depends on the optical frequency or wavelength. The term can also be used as a precisely defined
quantity, namely the derivative of the inverse group velocity with respect to the angular frequency (or
sometimes the wavelength):

The group velocity dispersion is the group delay dispersion per unit length. The basic units are s2/m.
For example, the group velocity dispersion of silica is +35 fs2/mm at 800 nm and â&#x2C6;&#x2019;26 fs2/mm at
1500 nm. Somewhere between these wavelengths (at about 1.3 Îźm), there is the zero-dispersion
wavelength.
For optical fibers (e.g. in the context of optical fiber communications), the group velocity dispersion
is usually defined as a derivative with respect to wavelength (rather than angular frequency). This can
be calculated from the above-mentioned GVD parameter:
2đ?&#x153;&#x2039;đ?&#x2018;? đ?&#x153;&#x2022;2 đ?&#x2018;&#x2DC;

III. ANALYSING METHOD
There are many methods to solve NLSE equation. In this paper, we have used split step Fourier
method to solve nonlinear SchrĂśdinger equation. It is applied because of greater computation speed
and increased accuracy compared to other numerical techniques.

3.1 Split Step Fourier Method
In numerical analysis, the split-step (Fourier) method is a pseudo-spectral numerical method used to
solve nonlinear partial differential equations like the nonlinear SchrĂśdinger equation. The name arises
for two reasons. First, the method relies on computing the solution in small steps, and treating the
linear and the nonlinear steps separately. Second, it is necessary to Fourier transform back and forth
because the linear step is made in the frequency domain while the nonlinear step is made in the time
domain.
Dispersion and nonlinear effects act simultaneously on propagating pulses during nonlinear pulse
propagation in optical fibers. However, analytic solution cannot be employed to solve the NLSE with
both dispersive and nonlinear terms present. Hence the numerical split step Fourier method is utilized,
which breaks the entire length of the fiber into small step sizes of length, h and then solves the
nonlinear SchrĂśdinger equation by splitting it into two halves.
Each part is solved individually and then combined together afterwards to obtain the aggregate output
of the traversed pulse. It solves the linear dispersive part first, in the Fourier domain using the fast
Fourier transforms and then inverse Fourier transforms to the time domain where it solves the
equation for the nonlinear term before combining them. The process is repeated over the entire span
of the fiber to approximate nonlinear pulse propagation. The equations describing them are offered
below [13].
The value of h is chosen for â&#x2C6;&#x2026;đ?&#x2018;&#x161;đ?&#x2018;&#x17D;đ?&#x2018;Ľ = đ?&#x203A;ž|đ??´|2 â&#x201E;&#x17D;, where â&#x2C6;&#x2026;đ?&#x2018;&#x161;đ?&#x2018;&#x17D;đ?&#x2018;Ľ = 0.07;
đ??´đ?&#x2018;? = peak power of A (z, t) and â&#x2C6;&#x2026;đ?&#x2018;&#x161;đ?&#x2018;&#x17D;đ?&#x2018;Ľ = maximum phase shift.
In the following part the solution of the generalized SchrĂśdinger equation is described using this
method.
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;đ??´
đ?&#x2018;&#x2013;đ?&#x203A;˝2 đ?&#x153;&#x2022;2 đ??´
=(â&#x2C6;&#x2019;
â&#x2C6;&#x201A;z
2 â&#x2C6;&#x201A;đ?&#x2018;&#x2021; 2

International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, July 2013.
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ISSN: 22311963

IV.

ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT PULSES

Pulse is a rapid change in some characteristic of a signal. The characteristic can be phase or frequency
from a baseline value to a higher or lower value, followed by a rapid return to the baseline value. Here
we have analysed two types of pulses which are Gaussian Pulse and Hyperbolic Secant Pulse.

4.1. Gaussian Pulse
Input Pulse
0.03
0.025

Amplitude

0.02

0.015

0.01

0.005

0

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Time

Figure 3. Gaussian Pulse

In Gaussian pulses while propagating maintain their fundamental shape, however their amplitude
width and phase varies over given distance as shown in figure 3. Many quantitative equations can be
followed to study the properties of Gaussian pulses as it propagates over a distance of z.[14]
The incident field for Gaussian pulses can be written as
đ?&#x153;?2

The full width at half-maximum pulse duration is approximately 1.76 times the parameter đ?&#x153;?. (That
parameter itself is sometimes called the pulse duration.)In many practical cases (e.g. soliton mode
locking), sech2 pulses have hardly any chirp, i.e., they are close to transform-limited. The timeâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;
bandwidth product is then â&#x2030;&#x2C6;0.315.Compared with a Gaussian function with the same half-width, the
sech2 function has stronger wings.
The peak power of a sech2 pulse is â&#x2030;&#x2C6;0.88 times the pulse energy divided by the FWHM pulse
duration. The sech2 shape is typical of fundamental soliton pulses (in the absence of higher-order
dispersion and self-steepening). Therefore, this pulse shape also occurs in soliton mode-locked lasers
[15]. However, it is also found in other situations; for example, passive mode locking with a slow
absorber usually leads to a pulse shape which is relatively close to the sech 2 shape. Pulse propagation
for hyperbolic secant pulse is depicted in figure 4.

4.3. Conditions for soliton
The conditions for soliton are:
1) The dispersion region must be anomalous. That is đ?&#x203A;˝2<0.
2) The input pulse must be an un-chirped hyperbolic secant pulse. In our simulation we
Used the following pulseđ?&#x153;?

In this paper we have used Gaussian pulse and Super-Gaussian pulse varying chirp, gamma, input
power, soliton order in Matlab simulation to analysis pulse broadening ratio. Pulse broadening ratio
should be one throughout all steps of pulse propagation in order to generate soliton. In this paper,
analysis is done by using the pulse broadening ratio of the evolved pulses. Pulse broadening ratio is
calculated by using the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM).
Pulse broadening ratio = FWHM of propagating pulse / FWHM of First pulse.
Pulse broadening ratio in figure 5 signifies the change of the propagating pulse width compared to the
pulse width at the very beginning of the pulse propagation. At the half or middle of the pulse
amplitude, the power of the pulse reaches maximum. The width of the pulse at that point is called full
width half maximum.

5.1. Gaussian Pulse
We will vary different nonlinear and dispersive parameters to find pulse broadening ratio through
optical fiber. Pulse broadening ratio of Gaussian pulse with chirp, C= -1, -0.5, 0, 0.5, 1. In figure 6,
both GVD and SPM act simultaneously on the Gaussian pulse with initial negative chirp. The
evolution pattern shows that pulse broadens at first for a small period of length. But gradually the rate
at which it broadens slowly declines and the pulse broadening ratio seems to reach a constant value.
This means that the pulse moves at a slightly larger but constant width as it propagates along the
length of the fiber. Although the width of the pulse seems constant, it does not completely resemble a
hyperbolic secant pulse evolution. We compare the pulse evolution of the Gaussian pulse with no
initial chirp and the negative chirped Gaussian pulse evolution to see the difference in shape and
width of each of these evolutions. As we previously established GVD and SPM effects cancel each
other out when the GVD induced negative chirp equals the SPM induced positive chirp. But in this
case the initial chirp affects the way both GVD and SPM behave. The chirp parameter of value -1
adds to the negative chirp of the GVD and deducts from the positive chirp of SPM causing the net
value of chirp to be negative. This means that GVD is dominant during the early stages of propagation
causing broadening of the pulse. But as the propagation distance increases the effect of the initial
chirp decreases while the induced chirp effect of both GVD and SPM regains control.

The difference between positive and negative induced is lessened and just like in the case of Gaussian
pulse propagation without initial chirp the GVD and SPM effects eventually cancels out each other to
propagate at constant width. If both GVD and SPM act simultaneously on the propagating Gaussian
pulse with no initial chirp then the pulse shrinks initially for a very small period of propagating
length. After that the broadening ratio reaches a constant value and a stable pulse is seemed to
propagate. GVD acting individually results in the pulse to spread gradually before it loses shape. SPM
acting individually results in the narrowing of pulses and losing its intended shape. The combined
effect of GVD and SPM leads to the eventual generation of constant pulse propagation emulating a
hyperbolic secant pulse. Pulse broadening ratio for various nonlinear parameter đ?&#x203A;ž is given in Figure 7,
we study the importance of magnitude of nonlinear parameter đ?&#x203A;ž on nonlinear optical fiber. By keeping
the input power and the GVD parameter constant; we generate curves for various values ofď&#x20AC; đ?&#x203A;žď&#x20AC; . The
ideal value of the nonlinear parameter is one, where GVD effect cancels out SPM effect to obtain
constant pulse width. Values chosen for this study are đ?&#x203A;žď&#x20AC; = 0.002, 0.0025, 0.003, 0.0035 and 0.004
/W/m.
The purpose is to observe the effect of increasing and decreasing nonlinear parameter on pulse
broadening ratio. For đ?&#x203A;žď&#x20AC; =0.003, the SPM induced positive chirp and GVD induced negative chirp
gradually cancels out.
This results in the pulse propagating at a constant width throughout a given length of fiber. For đ?&#x203A;ž =
0.0035, the pulse appears initially more narrow than the previous case. This is because of increasing
nonlinearity which results in increased SPM effect. For đ?&#x203A;ž = 0.004, the pulse broadening ratio initially
decreases to a minimum value. For đ?&#x203A;ž = 0.002, it is obvious that the SPM effect is not large enough to
counter the larger GVD effect. For this reason pulse broadens. Figure of pulse broadening ratio for
Gaussian pulse with input power =0.00056W, 0.0006W, 0.00064W, 0.00068W and 0.00072W.
In Figure 8, we study the importance of magnitude of power on nonlinear optical fiber. By keeping
the nonlinear parameter and the GVD parameter constant, we generate curves for various values of
input power. It is observed from this plot that, the pulse broadening ratio is more for curves with
smaller input power than for those with larger input power.

Where, đ?&#x203A;žđ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; is the input power and đ??żđ?&#x2018; is the nonlinear length.
This equation shows that the nonlinear length is inversely proportional to the input power. As a result
đ??żđ?&#x2018; decreases for higher values of đ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; . For đ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; =0.00072W it is observed that the pulse broadening ratio
decreases, meaning narrowing of pulses. Here, the nonlinear parameter đ?&#x203A;ž is also constant so,
narrowing of pulses continues to occur. The reason is that the same amount of nonlinear effect occurs,
but it manifests itself overđ??żđ?&#x2018; . Reducingđ?&#x2018;&#x192;đ?&#x2018;&#x153; has the opposite effect. Here, đ?&#x203A;ž stays constant but đ??żđ?&#x2018; is
larger. So the same SPM effect occurs but over a greater nonlinear length. This means that GVD
effect occurs at faster rate when dispersion length is comparatively smaller than the nonlinear length.
As a result, GVD effect become more dominant for lower input powers, it results in spreading of
pulses. Previously we plotted the graph by varying one parameter and kept constant other two
parameters. In figure 9 we varied all three parameters and found the optimum values for pulse
broadening ratio close to one which are g=0.003, p=0.00064, c= -0.05.

VI.

CONCLUSION

In this paper we explored the combined effects of various types of pulses including hyperbolic secant
pulses and Gaussian pulses. At first, a Gaussian pulse is launched into the optical fiber and we
observed the results for variable nonlinearity, variable group velocity dispersion and variable input
power. We find that for low nonlinear parameter values the pulse regains initial shape for a given
input power. Hyperbolic pulses are propagated as a constant width pulse called soliton. The perfect
disharmonious interaction of the GVD and SPM induced chirps result in diminishing of both
dispersive and nonlinear narrowing effects and hence soliton is obtained.

In order to implement the proposed scheme in the real world, there are some topics in our future
scope:
1. To develop the soliton profile detection technique under noisy environment. In the real world,
it should extract the data automatically.
2. To increase the propagation rate furthermore for high order solitons.
3. To improve the pulse retaining ability of solitons.

AUTHORS
Himanshu Chaurasiya is assistant professor in electronics & communication engineering
department currently in Amity University Noida, INDIA. He received 3 years electronics
engineering Diploma in 2003, Bachelor of Technology, in electronics & communication
engineering, in 2006 and Master of Technology, in electronics & communication engineering,
in 2009 as the specialization of Digital Communication. He has been actively involved in
teaching & research.

Anumeet Kaur is M.Tech student in Electronics & Communication Engineering department
currently in Amity University Noida, INDIA. She received 4 year Electronics &
Communication Engineering Degree in 2012. She has been actively involved in research.